The Huckleberry Hiker: March 2020

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

My Top 30 Hikes of All-Time

Looking back at my childhood I would have to say that I was extremely fortunate to have grown up in a semi-rural area. Though it's more than likely you never heard of Mack, Ohio, you're probably well aware of our largest suburb just to our east - Cincinnati. The dead-end street that we lived on backed-up to a fairly large wooded area covering several hundred acres. No doubt this is where my love for the outdoors was ingrained into my soul. My friends and I spent countless hours in those woods; hiking, riding our Huffy bikes on trails created by us and older groups of kids, building tree camps, and camping around an open fire. After we learned how to drive we discovered the Red River Gorge in central Kentucky where we started taking our first real hikes. We later graduated to the Great Smoky Mountains where we had our first real taste of big mountains and expansive wilderness. Then in 1986, while enjoying a couple of beers in the basement of a friend, three of us came up with the wild-eye idea of taking a grand road trip out west. This trip took us to the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota, before reaching our ultimate destinations of Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain National Park. The die was cast at that point, and I was forever hooked on the outdoors.

I was also very fortunate to have found a wife that enjoys hiking as much as I do. Together we have explored dozens of national parks, monuments and forests over the years. As a result of the hundreds, probably thousands of miles of hiking I've done over the years, I wanted to put together a list of what I consider to be my favorite hikes. Though I've attempted to rank them in order of best/most favorite, you may not want to assume that this ranking is absolute. I should admit that there may well be a great deal of recency bias, as I have tendency to think that my latest hike was the greatest. Ultimately, I hope that this list will inspire you, or provide you with some new places to explore in the future. Here are my top 30 hikes:

1) Lake O'Hara (Yoho National Park): Parks Canada limits the number of people that can visit this pristine area. In addition to the epic scenery the area has to offer, Lake O’Hara is also famous for its alpine circuit, a loop hike that traverses precipitous ledges with frightening exposure to steep drop-offs. However, there are many other options that hikers can take to enjoy this truly spectacular landscape.

2) Skyline Loop Trail (Mt. Rainier National Park): "Oh, what a paradise!" was Martha Longmire’s reaction upon seeing the lush meadows and spectacular wildflowers of Mount Rainier’s southern valley for the very first time in 1885. The description would stick, as the most popular area in the park is now known as “Paradise”. Once you set your own eyes upon it you’ll understand why. This hike was so incredibly beautiful that it was the first time that I ever kept my camera in my hand for the entire trip. The amazing scenery just never ended!

3) Grinnell Glacier Overlook (Glacier National Park): This hike travels along the world famous Highline Trail for much of its distance. The incredible views, the wildlife, and the wildflowers, all combine to make this a trek you'll remember the rest of your life. Though hikers will have a couple of options for enjoying the Highline Trail, I highly recommend taking the steep side trail that leads up to the spectacular Grinnell Glacier Overlook atop the Garden Wall.

4) Wenkchemna Pass (Banff National Park): The hike to Wenkchemna Pass begins from Moraine Lake, which sits at the foot of the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Both the lake and the valley were featured on the reverse side of the Canadian twenty dollar bill between 1969 and 1979. At the foot of the lake is a large pile of boulders and rocks, leftovers from the glaciers that retreated thousands of years ago. A climb to the top of the rock pile is a popular destination for photographers. The view there of the lake and the valley is considered to be one of the most photographed scenes in Canada, and is now known as the "Twenty Dollar View".

5) Swiftcurrent Pass (Glacier National Park): Although this is one of the toughest hikes in Glacier, it includes tons of spectacular scenery. You'll pass by three lakes and a waterfall while traveling up the Swiftcurrent Valley. Once above the valley floor the trail offers outstanding birds-eye views of six glacial lakes, as well as Swiftcurrent Glacier. At the pass you'll enjoy stunning views of Heavens Peak and Granite Park.

6) Iceline Trail (Yoho National Park): While ascending the avalanche path hikers will enjoy views of Takakkaw Falls across the valley. Once at the top the trail begins crossing over the broken terrain of ancient glacial moraines. From this point forward you’ll enjoy epic alpine scenery, including outstanding views of Emerald Glacier, several small tarns, as well as the spectacular surrounding mountains within Yoho National Park.

7) Mt. Ida (Rocky Mountain National Park): Hands down this is the best hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. The views from the summit are simply epic. In fact, hikers will enjoy outstanding panoramic views along much of the route. Although the terrain becomes fairly rugged on the final leg to the summit, you'll have very little exposure to steep drop-offs. If this still sounds like this might be a little bit out of your comfort zone, you could simply end your hike atop Peak 12,150, a sub-peak along the ridge approaching the summit.

8) Siyeh Pass Loop (Glacier National Park): This one-way hike offers visitors the chance to take-in some of the best of what Glacier has to offer. Hikers will pass through the incredibly beautiful Preston Park, climb up to one of the highest maintained trails in Glacier, and then back down the Baring Creek Valley where you'll have a relatively close-up view of Sexton Glacier.

9) Static Peak Divide (Grand Teton National Park): Cascade Canyon gets all the accolades whenever outdoor media types discuss hiking in the Grand Tetons. However, in my humble opinion, the pundits simply haven't done their homework. I'll admit this is an extremely tough hike, but the alpine scenery is simply epic, and easily makes this the best hike in Grand Teton National Park.

10) Ice Lakes (San Juan National Forest): Ice Lakes just might have the most intense cobalt blue color I’ve ever seen in nature. Combine this extraordinarily beautiful alpine lake with outstanding mountain scenery and several thousand wildflowers, and you have one of the best hikes found just about anywhere.

11) Dragon's Tail (Glacier National Park)

12) Lake Solitude (Grand Teton National Park)

13) Blue Lakes (Uncompahgre National Forest)

14) Mt. Elbert (San Isabel National Forest)

15) Grinnell Glacier (Glacier National Park)

16) Hallet Peak (Rocky Mountain National Park)

17) Chasm Lake (Rocky Mountain National Park)

18) Mt. Rogers (Grayson Highlands State Park)

19) Lake Josephine Loop (Glacier National Park)

20) Gregory Bald (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)

21) Emerald Lake (Rocky Mountain National Park)

22) Grassy Ridge Bald (Roan Mountain - Cherokee National Forest)

23) Rocky Top (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)

24) Parker Ridge (Banff National Park)

25) North Rim Trail (Yellowstone National Park)

26) Panorama Trail (Yosemite National Park)

27) Wheeler Peak (Carson National Forest)

28) Horsethief Trail (San Juan National Forest)

29) Gilpin Lake / Gold Creek Loop (Mt. Zirkel Wilderness)

30) Skyline Trail (Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia)

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From Montana to New Mexico, the American Rockies stretch for more than a thousand miles. Within this spectacular mountain range are thousands of miles of hiking trails. With such an overwhelming number of options, how will you find and choose the most scenic and rewarding hikes?

Ultimate Hiking Guide to the Rocky Mountains takes all the guesswork out by focusing on some of the most amazing hikes across this range, and provides you with a handpicked list of options that will allow you to make the most of your trips in the Rockies:

Friday, March 27, 2020

Glacier National Park is closed to all park visitors until further notice

Glacier National Park is announcing additional modifications to operations in response to guidance from Flathead County, MT, Glacier County, MT, Blackfeet Nation, and the State of Montana. The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners is our number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effective at 5 pm on March 27, 2020, Glacier National Park will be closed to all park visitors until further notice. There will be no visitor access permitted to the park. US Highway 2 inside the park boundary will remain open. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our website and social media channels.

“The National Park Service listened to the concerns from our state, county, and tribal partners and, based on current health guidance, temporarily closed the park,” said Glacier Superintendent Jeff Mow. “We will continue to work with our state, county, and tribal partners as this crisis continues and we will coordinate with them on when it will be safe to reopen the park.”

Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus. Please check with www.nps.gov/glac for specific details about park operations.

Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com

Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Are Air Horns Effective as Bear Deterrents?

Almost ten years ago I posted a blog that explored the question as to whether air horns are effective as bear deterrents. My thoughts were that the high-decibel noise coming from an air horn might be more effective than bear spray for three reasons:

1) You don't have to worry about the direction of the wind (or rain)

2) You don't have to wait for the bear to get close enough before sounding the horn

3) Bears have much better hearing than humans, thus the noise would potentially bother them even more than humans

That posting has generated quite a bit of interest over the years - in fact, it's the most popular post on this blog of all time - generating almost 50,000 views. As a result, I decided to revisit the subject to see if there was anything new to report. Specifically, are there any new studies that provide hard evidence as to whether or not air horns actually work?

It seems that the idea of using air horns has actually gained some traction since the last time I visited this topic. However, I still couldn’t find any hard evidence on the effectiveness of them as a deterrent against black bears or grizzly bears.

Here’s what I did find:

In an “Ask A Bear” column (updated in 2017), Backpacker Magazine cited a test conducted on polar bears in the 1970s that found that "ultrasonic frequencies fine-tuned and blasted over large speakers repelled bears roughly 69% of the time from a testing perimeter that contained food. Of the testing pool of 74 bears, 51 were strongly repelled, but eight bears exhibited no response, and 15 polar bears actually chose to investigate the source of the sound." The article concluded that loud noise may act as a deterrent, but it can also act as an attractant. This conclusion is also essentially being communicated on several government websites, as we shall see further below.

The study cited by Backpacker was effectively the only research that I could find that was related to my question, but it really didn’t answer it. One, the test was conducted on polar bears, and two, air horns weren’t used in the test. I should point out that the column also states that bear guru Stephen Herrero believes that an ultrasonic bear repellent is worthy of further study and testing. There is one other study that I found that I should mention here. It was conducted by Gary D. Miller from the Zoology Department at the University of Montana. The study tested several potential bear repellents on 2 male grizzly bears and 2 female polar bears at the Churchill Bear Laboratory in Churchill, Manitoba. The study found that air horns did not repel either of the two bears tested. I have to take this result with a large grain of salt, however, given the extremely small sample size and the fact that the bears tested were not in the wild.

The Get Bear Smart Society, a Canadian organization that works to educate the general public as well as government agencies across North America, believes that air horns can be effective when used in conjunction with human dominance techniques to move a bear off (A guide to non-lethal management techniques). On their website they also state:

Noise deterrents work by making a loud, unpleasant sound that causes the bear to be uneasy and move away. Noise deterrents are advantageous if you are a long distance away from the bear. Furthermore, they cause neither harm nor injury to the bear when correctly used.

In some cases, noise deterrents do not work either because the bear has habituated to human noise or because it has no natural fear of the noise.

I found several governmental websites in the United States and Canada that offered similar advice. For example, the Kenai Fjords National Park website states that “It is a good idea to carry a non-lethal deterrent such as an air horn or pepper spray in case of a surprise encounter…”

As a result of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published Deterrence Guidelines in the Federal Register, which states that:

These guidelines…are appropriate for safely and nonlethally deterring polar bears from damaging private and public property and endangering the public. The use of commercially available air horns and other similar devices designed to deter wild animals…may be effective in deterring bears while causing no lasting or permanent harm to individual animals.

The Kluane National Park and Reserve in northwestern Canada recommends bear spray as your best deterrent, but also mentions that "Other tools can help you deter a bear: noisemakers such as air horns" can be used as well.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game links to information from several websites and brochures. This includes one from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge which states that you should "Consider the range of actions you could take. Start with the least aggressive options, such as using noise makers, grouping together, yelling or clapping, or deploying air horns". Another links to a brochure from Park Canada that states that air horns may be effective in deterring a polar bear. Interestingly, the Fish and Game website also mentions using air horns as a defense against an aggressive wolf.

A brochure published by the British Columbia Forest Safety Council states that "Noises that cannot be reproduced in the wild, (e.g. a metallic noise), will let a bear know that you are approaching and give them advanced notice to move out of the area. However, noisemakers that startle a bear, such as an air horn, can provoke an attack. If you release an air horn too close to a bear hiding in the bush and it startles them, they may charge."

The Manitoba Wildlife and Fisheries Branch asserts that "When hiking, carry bear deterrent spray and also consider taking a walking stick and an air horn as further deterrents."

The Government of Alberta's website provides this guidance:

The two most effective bear deterrents are bear spray and noisemakers. Carry both when in bear country.

The most effective noisemaker in bear country is you. Talking or singing loudly can help prevent surprise encounters with wildlife. With enough warning of your approach, wildlife typically remove themselves and their young from the area.

When I see a bear, should I use a noisemaker or bear spray?

* Noisemakers are best used to deter a bear that is at a distance – one that sees you and continues to approach or one that's heading to your camp or settlement.

* Before using noisemakers, be sure to assess the situation. Make sure the surroundings are clear of people and the bear has an obvious way out. A bear that's been startled by a noisemaker may not be able to avoid groups of people as it flees the area.

* Remember, the noisemaker may not immediately deter the bear, especially if the bear has had previously experience with noise deterrents. Also, noisemakers may not prevent the bear from returning to the area.

* Bear spray is best used when you need to deter a bear at close range.

Finally, a brochure from the Nunavut Department of Environment states that "Noisemakers are a simple, first level deterrent. However, bears quickly become accustomed to sounds when no other negative effect is present. Have other deterrents or a lethal firearm present and ready in case the noisemakers are ineffective."

I think the bottom line is that there’s no 100% safe and reliable way to deter a bear. Each bear has a different personality, and each encounter is essentially a unique situation. Your best bet is to make sure that you make a lot of noise while hiking in bear country, and to practice bear awareness and avoidance techniques. If you do encounter an aggressive bear, and wish to use an air horn, my advice would be to have bear spray as a back-up in case the air horn doesn't work as intended. You can certainly make the argument that its probably best to have both in case one of the products fail for one reason or another.

Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Ramble On (2nd edition book on the rich history of hiking)
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are closed to all visitors until further notice

Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks are announcing modifications to operations at the request of local county health officers from Park County, WY, Park County, MT, Teton County, WY, and Gallatin County, MT. The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners is our number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working servicewide with federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effective immediately, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks are closed to all park visitors until further notice. There will be no visitor access permitted to either park. State highways and/or roads that transcend park/state boundaries and facilities that support life safety and commerce will remain open. Both parks will cooperate on the implementation of the closures. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our website and social media channels.

“The National Park Service listened to the concerns from our local partners and, based on current health guidance, temporarily closed the parks,” said Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly and Grand Teton Acting Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail. “We are committed to continued close coordination with our state and local partners as we progress through this closure period and are prepared when the timing is right to reopen as quickly and safely as possible.”

The parks encourage people to take advantage of various digital tools available to learn about Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Closes to Support Regional COVID-19 Prevention Efforts

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced that all park areas, except the Foothills Parkway and the Spur, will close at noon on Tuesday, March 24 through Monday, April 6, in a continuing effort to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The park will continue to assess changing conditions in our region and work with local communities to extend or terminate closures, as appropriate to ensure the health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, partners, and local residents.

All access to the park, including trails and roads, will temporarily close in alignment with efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 across the region. This includes Executive Order 117 issued by NC Governor Roy Cooper, Executive Order 17 issued by TN Governor Bill Lee, Executive Order 6 issued by Principal Chief Richard Sneed of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, Graham County travel restrictions, Pigeon Forge, TN Safe-at-Home Advisory, and requests to close or partially close the park received from Swain County, Sevier County, and Bryson City, NC.

Despite park efforts over the last week to comply with the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) guidance for social distancing, approximately 30,000 people entered the park daily resulting in congested conditions at popular locations such as Laurel Falls, Newfound Gap, and Cades Cove. Visitors from across the country have flocked to the area due to Spring Break, wildflowers, and warm weather conditions. This two-week park closure allows the park to support local efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

During the closure period, visitors can experience the park using digital tools including our social media platforms and website where near real-time views can be seen via park webcams at https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm. Park rangers can still help answer questions via email or phone during business hours at (865) 436-1291, (828) 506-8620, or GRSM_Smokies_Information@nps.gov. The NPS is working with federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor COVID-19 and adjusting measures to control its spread. We will notify the public as we are able to resume operations and will provide updates on our website at www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/conditions.htm and social media.

The Fire Lookouts of Glacier National Park

1910 was one of the worst forest fire years in the history of the Pacific Northwest. Wildfires torched more than three million acres of virgin forest in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, and in the process, destroyed enough timber to fill a freight train 2,400-miles long! 1910 also happened to be the year that Glacier National Park was established. It would literally be a baptism of fire for our eighth national park. More than 100,000 acres burned in Glacier, including a 23,000-acre blaze near Kintla Creek. The situation in the park that year would be exacerbated by the lack of an organized firefighting infrastructure, very little equipment, few trails, and practically no roads.

As a result of that infamous year, Glacier Park would find itself on the leading edge of fire management throughout the first half of the 20th Century. According to Mitch Burgard's Fire Blog, which was once published on the park website, Glacier achieved several firsts:

• Glacier was the first National Park to have a dedicated fire crew (prior to this time the Army/Calvary and, later, the National Forest Service were solely in charge of fighting forest fires).

• In the early 1920’s Glacier was the first National Park to bring the new technology of ‘portable’ (horse drawn) pumps into the United States from Canada.

• Glacier established the first fire management plan in the National Park Service. In 1929 a newly appointed “fire control expert” at the national office used Glacier’s plan as a benchmark. It would become the model in which other plans were measured against for the next decade.

• In 1946, Glacier became the first National Park to utilize Smokejumpers.

The park was also quick to build fire lookout towers. Although most of Glacier’s lookouts were built in the 1930s, two were already constructed by 1923, both of which had phone line connections.

Most of the lookouts in the park had the same basic design; a two story wooden structure with a windowless dirt floor storage area, topped by a 14 x 14 foot ‘cab’ in which the fire lookouts worked and lived.

There were two notable exceptions to this basic design, however. One was the Red Eagle Lookout, a 60-foot steel tower that was built in 1960, but destroyed in 1986. The other, Swiftcurrent Lookout, which still stands today atop Swiftcurrent Mountain, has a stone foundation, and a gable roof made with heavy timber framing and a flagstone and mortar roof surface. The park opted for a much sturdier design in order to protect the lookout from the harsh weather and strong winds that buffet the 8436-foot peak.

I would assume this to be true for all the towers in Glacier, but according to Fire Lookouts of the Northwest, by Ray Kresek, the Numa Ridge Lookout has a heavy wooden panel with 200 spikes driven through it. With its sharp points sticking out three inches, the panel is dropped in place on the stairway each night as a security measure against grizzly bears!

Glacier still staffs four fire lookouts each season. Traditionally these have been Huckleberry Mountain, Numa Ridge, Scalplock Mountain and Swiftcurrent Mountain. However, in 2009, and for the first time in more than 30 years, the park also staffed Loneman Lookout in the Middle Fork area.

Lookout work is mostly a solitary job with limited amenities and long shifts where firewatchers work at least 10 straight days during the summer fire season.

In his book, Kresek published several journal entries from lookouts that worked at Numa Ridge over the years. There were many complaints about having to do chores. They seemed to come out of boredom, rather than the physical work itself. Apparently there were other hazards that lookouts had to deal with that weren’t in the job description. On September 12, 1950, firewatcher Scotty Beaton made this entry:

“Found mud in water barrel; put there by kid from McFarland’s dude ranch; same kid busted crosshairs on firefinder, bent nails on bear board, and ruined my binoculars on the hot stove.”

Speaking of Numa Ridge, Edward Abbey, author of the Monkey Wrench Gang, once spent a summer in 1975 manning this lookout. In A Lookout’s Journal, Abbey summed-up his experience with this quote: “Bears, beans, bores and bugs: Numa Ridge Lookout.”

As we move forward into the 21st Century it will be interesting to see if Glacier continues to stay on the cutting edge with the latest technologies in fire management. For example, unmanned drones are now being used to detect and monitor wildfires, and may even be used to suppress fires in the future.

Of the 17 fire lookouts that once stood in the park, 9 still remain, all of which can be reached by trail. Here’s a list of lookouts in Glacier, present and past:

Apgar Lookout / Built: 1929
Access: 3.6 mile hike on the Apgar Lookout Trail near Apgar

Huckleberry Lookout / Built: Original in 1923, rebuilt in 1933
Access: 6 mile hike Huckleberry Lookout Trail near Apgar

Loneman Lookout / Built: 1930 and rehabed in 2003
Access: 7 mile hike on Loneman Lookout Trail off Highway 2 near Middle Fork

Mount Brown Lookout / Built: 1928
Access: 5.4 mile hike from Lake McDonald Lodge

The Mt. Brown Lookout was threatened by the Sprague Fire in 2017. In order to protect the historic building firefighters wrapped it in fire-resistant foil (see photo).

Numa Ridge Lookout / Built: 1934
Access: 5.6 mile hike on the Numa Ridge Lookout Trail at Bowman Lake

Porcupine Ridge Lookout / Built: 1939
Access: Porcupine Lookout Trail via Waterton Valley Trail out of Goat Haunt

Scalplock Lookout / Built: 1931
Access: 4.7 mile hike on Scalplock Trail in Walton

Swiftcurrent Lookout / Built: 1936
Access: 6.2 mile hike from The Loop, 7.8 miles from Many Glacier, or 9.9 miles from Logan Pass

Bear Mountain Point Lookout / Built: 1935 / Destroyed: 1965

Curly Bear Lookout / Built: 1934 / Destroyed: 1963

Elk Mountain Lookout / Built: 1930 / Destroyed: 1963

Heaven's Peak Lookout / Built: 1945 / Building is still standing after being abandoned in 1953, and was scheduled to be stabilized in 2012 in order to preserve it.

Heaven's Peak South Lookout / Built: 1943 / Destroyed: 1963

Red Eagle Lookout / Built: 1960 / Destroyed: 1986

Reynolds Ridge Lookout / Built: 1931 / Destroyed: 1963

Riverview Mountain Lookout / Built: 1923 / Abandoned: 1930s

Waterton Lake Lookout / Built: 1930s / Abandoned 1940s

For more information on the lookouts you can visit the Fire Lookout website and the National Park Service’s List of Classified Structures.

I’ll sign-off today with this lookout journal entry from September 3, 1980:

“Autumn is in the air. A pair of golden eagles are hovering in the thermals around the station. The western sky is gorgeous, pink with crimson ruffles. CFCN Radio is playing the Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra’s Canadian Sunset. It’s time to bring in the flag. God Bless America!”

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Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth. With more than 740 miles of trails meandering throughout this vast park, how will you find and choose the most scenic and rewarding hikes?

Exploring Glacier National Park takes all the guesswork out by focusing on the most amazing hikes, and provides you with handpicked recommendations that will allow you to make the most of your trip to Glacier:

Friday, March 20, 2020

The Wonderland Hotel

Below is a short video from the Dan Traveling Series showing possibly some of the last footage ever shot of the historic Wonderland Hotel. Located in the Elkmont community in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the hotel served as a retreat for members of the Wonderland Club for 80 years before the National Park Service forced its closure, and ultimately having it razed in 2005.

The hotel was built on land formerly owned by the Little River Railroad Company, and was located just north of Elkmont. As the area became "logged out", Little River Railroad Company President Colonel W.B. Townsend began to recognize the benefits of tourism to the area. To capitalize on this budding industry, Townsend sold a 50-acre tract of cut-over land to Charles B. Carter in 1911, with the stipulation that he had to build on the land within a year. Carter immediately formed the Wonderland Club Company, and on June 11, 1912 opened the doors to the Wonderland Hotel. The hotel would remain open to the public for seven years before closing it to club members and their guests only.

The Wonderland Hotel was constructed as a two-story wood frame structure with boards cut from local chestnut trees. It featured a wrap around porch, and contained 26 rooms, none of which were the same. The hotel became a hub of outdoor activities during the daytime, which included fishing, horseback riding, swimming and hiking, while bands from Knoxville entertained guests on weekend nights.

Due to the popularity of the hotel, the club decided to construct an annex in 1920 to provide their members with more privacy. This building contained another 24 guest rooms, a common area, and a screened porch.

In 1923 the Wonderland Club and the Appalachian Club combined to form the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association. Led by Colonel David Chapman, this highly influential organization led the campaign for the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

On November 15, 1992 the Wonderland Hotel closed its doors for good. Three years later it was partially burned under suspicious circumstances. Some people suspect the fire was set by National Park Service employees as a means to remove the building. In 2005 the remnants of the hotel began to collapse, thus forcing the National Park Service to award a contract to begin the careful demolition of the standing portions of the building. Historically significant artifacts such as doors, windows and bathtubs were set aside for permanent preservation. In a somewhat ironic twist of fate, the annex hotel also burned down 11 years later.

Hikers can still see many of the vacation homes and cottages that remain and have been included as part of the preservation of the Elkmont historic district. Trails such as the Little River Trail and the Jakes Creek Trail feature several homes from this bygone era in the Smokies.

Here's the Dan Traveling video:

For more information on the efforts to preserve and restore the historic Elkmont community in the Great Smoky Mountains, please click here.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Need a good book to read?

With virtually everyone around the world currently holed-up in their homes due to coronavirus, now would be a great time for a little light reading on our favorite past-time. My book, Ramble On: A History of Hiking, is a great way to escape the constant drone of bad news, as well as the boredom of self-quarantining!

Ramble On: A History of Hiking is the first broad historical overview of hiking in one volume. Among the variety of topics discussed about the early years of hiking, the book chronicles hiking’s roots in alpinism and mountaineering, the societal trends that fostered its growth, some of the early hikers from the 19th century, the first trails built specifically for hiking, the formation of the first hiking clubs, as well as the evolution of hiking gear and apparel. It also includes anecdotal stories of trail development in some of our oldest and most iconic national parks, such as Yellowstone, Glacier, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

If you would like to read a short excerpt from the book on the "True Realities of Women’s Hiking Attire During The Victorian Era", please click here. You can also read published reviews from the Appalachian Mountain Club and the National Parks Traveler.

To order a copy from Amazon right now, please click here. Once again, thank you very much!

Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com

Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Smokies Modifies Operations to Implement Latest Health Guidance

Great Smoky Mountains National Park continues to take steps to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote social distancing. As of Thursday, March 19, seasonally open campgrounds at Smokemont, Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Cosby will no longer accept fees on-site. All campers must reserve and pay for sites online at recreation.gov to minimize the exposure risk for park employees and visitors.

In addition, the park is suspending reservations for gatherings at the following park facilities through April 30: Appalachian Clubhouse, Spence Cabin, Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church, Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church, Cades Cove Methodist Church, and Smokemont Baptist Church. All requests for reservation cancellations for campgrounds, picnic pavilions, churches, and Special Park Use permits will be honored with a full refund without cancellation penalties.

At this time, seasonally open park campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails, and restroom facilities located adjacent to Visitor Centers remain open and accessible to the public. Effective immediately, backcountry campers and A.T. thru-hikers with reservations at one of the park’s 15 backcountry shelters are authorized to use a tent outside the shelter to provide for social distancing.

The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at Great Smoky Mountains National Park is our number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working with the federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our website and social media channels.

The NPS urges visitors to do their part when visiting a park and to follow CDC guidance to prevent the spread of infectious diseases by maintaining a safe distance between yourself and other groups; washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze; and most importantly, staying home if you feel sick.

For high-risk populations, such as the elderly and people with underlying conditions, we ask that they take extra caution and follow CDC guidance for those at higher risk of serious illness.

Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus. For more information about current conditions in the park, please visit the park website at www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/conditions.htm.

Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com

Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

National Park Service to Temporarily Suspend Park Entrance Fees 

After careful consideration, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt directed the National Park Service (NPS) to temporarily suspend the collection of all park entrance fees until further notice.

“I’ve directed the National Park Service to waive entrance fees at parks that remain open. This small step makes it a little easier for the American public to enjoy the outdoors in our incredible National Parks,” said Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. 

Other states and municipalities have implemented similar policies waiving fees to parks in an effort to support social distancing.

“Our vast public lands that are overseen by the Department offer special outdoor experiences to recreate, embrace nature and implement some social distancing.” Secretary Bernhardt continued.

At a majority of park locations where it is currently possible to adhere to public health guidance, outdoor spaces remain open to the public, while many facilities will be closed.

The Department of the Interior and NPS continue to urge visitors to do their part when visiting a park to follow CDC guidance by maintaining a safe distance between yourself and other groups; washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze; and most importantly, staying home if you feel sick.

Specifically, the CDC recommends high-risk populations, such as the elderly and people with underlying conditions, take extra precautions to be best protected against the spread of coronavirus.

Updates about the NPS response to the coronavirus will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus. Please check with individual parks for specific details about park operations.

The Rocky Mountain National Park "Grand Loop"

It's hard to believe but spring is only two days away! Many people have already made, or are in the process of making their hiking and backpacking plans for the upcoming summer. If you're planning a backpacking trip in Rocky Mountain National Park this summer, here's a very challenging route to consider.

Backpacker Magazine has put together a video highlighting the so called "Grand Loop" in Rocky Mountain National Park. This historically inspired route includes a summit of Longs Peak from the Keplinger Couloir.

The route begins from Bear Lake and takes hikers up to Flattop Mountain. From the summit you'll descend down the west side of the Continental Divide via the Tonahutu Creek Trail as it makes its way to Big Meadows. From Big Meadows the loop makes a brief visit at Grand Lake before venturing back into the wilderness at the East Inlet Trailhead. After passing Lake Verna and Spirit Lake, the route goes off-trail and climbs over Boulder-Grand Pass, and then travels back down to Thunder Lake. From the lake the route ascends Thunder Ridge and the Keplinger Couloir to reach the summit of Longs Peak, the highest point in Rocky Mountain National Park. From the top of the peak the trail descends back down the mountain via the Keyhole Route and the North Longs Peak Trail to return back to Bear Lake.

The Backpacker video provides a visual look at what you'll see and experience along this epic route:

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Glacier National Park is Modifying Operations to Implement Latest Health Guidance

Glacier National Park is announcing modifications to its winter operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote social distancing. As of March 21, 2020, the Apgar Visitor Center and bookstore will close until further notice. The park will continue to provide visitor information through alternative means at the Apgar Visitor Center Plaza.

During the winter months, the park offers minimal visitor services and facilities, but the park remains accessible to the Apgar, Lake McDonald, and St. Mary areas. Monday through Friday, visitor information is available at park headquarters from 8 am to 4:30 pm (closed for lunch 12-12:30 pm). Additional information and current conditions are available on the park’s website.

The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at Glacier National Park is our number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working with the federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our website and social media channels. 

The NPS urges visitors to do their part when visiting a park and to follow CDC guidance to prevent the spread of infectious diseases by maintaining a safe distance between yourself and other groups; washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze; and most importantly, staying home if you feel sick.

For high-risk populations, such as the elderly and people with underlying conditions, we ask that they take extra caution and follow CDC guidance for those at higher risk of serious illness.

Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus.

Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com

Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

Monday, March 16, 2020

REI Retail Stores Closing until March 27

I just received this email from REI, who I have an affiliate relationship with:

As the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread throughout the communities where we all live and work, we have consistently looked for ways to help protect the health and safety of our employees and customers. Since our founding, REI has been about doing the right thing for our community.

After a great deal of careful consideration, we are temporarily closing our 162 retail stores nationwide starting March 16, until March 27. We believe that is the right thing for our community. In fact, we believe it is our duty—to do all we can to help keep one another safe in this unprecedented moment.

That also means all employees from our stores will be paid during this temporary closure. And, even with our stores closed, we will be working hard to do everything we can to continue to serve our customers. All orders through REI.com will get free shipping while our stores are closed. Customers who have questions about gear and local outdoor activities that they’d normally ask in our stores can get answers through our digital community, REI Conversations and Co-op Journal will feature articles that help people find ways to get outside even during these challenging times.

We’ve always been deliberate and transparent when making significant decisions about our business. This is a difficult decision for any business, and we do not make it lightly. Our decisions are grounded in the belief that there are more important things than business right now—we owe that to one another.

Know that we will continue to work closely with our teams and public health officials throughout the country to understand how to best serve your needs, and serve our customers as soon as local conditions allow. We’ll continue to share information with our members and employees as we move forward together into a future that’s hard to predict.

In the meantime, thank you for your understanding, your patience and, most of all, for being a part of this incredible community. The outdoors remains a vital part of all our lives, especially in moments like this.

Be well and take care of one another.

The REI Affiliate Team

The Montana Experience: The Polebridge Mercantile

Nestled in a remote mountain valley at the foot of Glacier National Park, the historic Polebridge Mercantile dutifully endures as one of the last outposts of its kind in the American West. The Mercantile, a short film by Brian Bolster, steps into the working lives of Flannery Coats and Stuart Reiswig, the young couple whose search for the ideal marriage location yielded them the most unforeseen and rewarding challenges of their lives - proprietorship and preservation of a century-old, unchanged business enterprise in a modern and ever-changing world.

Although most park visitors never make it up to Polebridge, located just outside of the northwest corner of the park, this film will give them a good idea of what they're missing when they visit the Glacier area. You have to admit, those pastries sure look awesome!

Maybe now Polebridge will be on your itinerary for your next visit! If you do plan to visit Glacier this summer, now's a good time to begin your planning. In addition to detailed hiking trail information for Glacier National Park, HikinginGlacier.com also offers a wide variety of accommodation listings and other things to do to help with all your vacation planning.

Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park

Friday, March 13, 2020

Snow Plowing Operations Begin in Grand Teton

Spring plowing will begin in Grand Teton National Park on Monday, March 16. The plowing operations mark the end of over-snow access on the 14-mile section of the Teton Park Road between Taggart Lake Trailhead and the Signal Mountain area.

For safety reasons, visitors may not access the Teton Park Road once plowing operations are underway. Rotary snow removal equipment and plows may be working at any time, and the roadway will be closed to all uses at all times until further notice. Skiers and those on snow shoes using areas adjacent to the roadway are cautions to avoid the arc of snow blown from the rotary equipment because pieces of ice and gravel can be thrown great distances.

The Teton Park Road is anticipated to be accessible to activities such as cycling, roller skating, skateboarding, roller skiing, walking, jogging and leashed pet walking within the next few weeks. The road will open to motor vehicles on Friday, May 1.

Other park roads such as the Moose-Wilson Road, Signal Mountain Summit Road, Antelope Flats Road, East Boundary Road, Mormon Row Road, Two Ocean Road and Grassy Lake Road remain closed to vehicle traffic when posted or gated in the spring. These roads may close temporarily to accommodate snow removal operations. The opening dates of these roads vary from year to year and are dependent on weather, snow conditions, plowing progress, wildlife activity and road conditions.

The paved multi-pathways in the park are open to use when they are predominantly free of snow and ice.

The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose will open Wednesday, April 15 and be open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

The Routing of the Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains

The following is an adaptation from my book, Ramble On: A History of Hiking:

On October 29, 1929, a day after losing almost 13% of its total market value, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged another 12%. That day, now infamously known as Black Tuesday, marked the beginning of the Great Depression. To help alleviate the suffering of millions of Americans, President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated several social welfare programs, including the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which would employ millions of young men to help provide their families with much needed cash. The program employed unmarried men between the ages of 18 and 25 (later expanded to 17-28). In addition to food, shelter and clothing, the corps enrollees were paid $30 per month, but were required to send $25 back to their families. Operating from 1933 to 1942, the CCC employed roughly 3 million young men nationwide. Their accomplishments during this time period were staggering. They planted roughly 3 billion trees, developed or improved 800 state parks, developed 52,000 acres of public campgrounds, constructed 125,000 miles of forest roads, erected 3470 fire towers, spent millions of man-days fighting wildfires, stocked lakes and streams with fish, helped with erosion control on 20 million acres, and constructed more than 28,000 miles of foot trails, the vast majority of which were constructed in national forests.

The CCC was also largely responsible for the construction of the Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains. The footpath, which now runs for 2190 miles between Maine and Georgia, was originally conceived by Benton MacKaye, a Massachusetts regional planner and forester for the United States Forest Service. His idea for a continuous wilderness path was originally proposed in an October 1921 article in the Journal of the American Institute of Architects, entitled, "An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning." MacKaye saw the trail as not only a way of providing leisure, enjoyment and an opportunity to “study the dynamic forces of nature,” but also as way for modern urbanites “to catch a breath” and gain “relief from the various shackles of commercial civilization.”

Work began on the trail in 1923, with the greatest progress taking place in New England over the first several years. In 1929 the Appalachian Trail Conference (now the Appalachian Trail Conservancy) sent Roy Ozmer to scout a route through the southern states. His original plan called for the trail to enter the Smokies at Davenport Gap in the northeast corner of the park, and then traverse across the eastern highlands of the park. At Silers Bald his projected route turned south to descend along the Forney Creek drainage before exiting the park and entering the Nantahala Mountains. However, during the trip, Horace Kephart, an outdoor author and a strong advocate for a national park in the Smokies, convinced Ozmer to route the trail across the entire crest of the Great Smoky Mountains. As a result of Kephart‘s influence the original route of the Appalachian Trail traveled all the way across Gregory Bald to exit the park at Deals Gap. After Fontana Dam was constructed in the 1940s, however, the trail was rerouted to turn south at Doe Knob and cross over the new dam. Below is snippet of a park map from 1940 (click here for the full map) showing the original route:

Although hikers were already exploring the Great Smoky Mountain highlands as early as the early 1900s, it’s believed that the first continuous hike across the entire crest of the Smokies took place in August of 1932 when nine members of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club set-off from Davenport Gap. Included among this group of explorers was Harvey Broome, president of the club and one of the co-founders of The Wilderness Society, as well as Carlos Campbell, an avid hiker, founding member of the hiking club, and secretary of the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association. According to Campbell’s memoir, and a taped interview conducted in 1975, their 72-mile trek across the future park took nine days to complete, much of it across rugged terrain without the benefit of a trail. Along the way they ran out of food and water on several occasions, and had to rely on livestock herders for help. After completing their hike and reaching Deals Gap the hungry and scraggly-looking bunch hitched a ride back to Maryville. Upon arrival they made a beeline to a drugstore where each of them devoured a quart of ice cream. Obviously not much has changed over the years. It’s been a long tradition for thru-hikers to stop and consume a half gallon of ice cream at the Pine Grove Furnace General Store near the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail.

Members of both the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club and the Carolina Mountain Club were instrumental in making the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies a reality. Members of both clubs scouted and physically marked the route. George Masa, a distinguished photographer and member of the Carolina Mountain Club, took it upon himself to photograph and draw detailed maps of the terrain along the proposed route. Club members also rolled measuring wheels to calculate distances along the route, such as the one in the photo below:

Though the two hiking clubs were heavily involved with scouting and blazing the footpath, it was the responsibility of the federal government for its construction. Although national park crews built a few miles, the vast majority of the route through the Smokies was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, including the original trail shelters.

By 1936 the CCC had completed the trail through the park, and in August of the following year a CCC crew had connected a two-mile stretch along the ridge between Spaulding and Sugarloaf Mountains in Maine, thus completing the final link in the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. At that time the footpath extended for roughly 2025 miles, from Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. However, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy website notes that the route is constantly changing, and estimates that 99% of it has been rebuilt or relocated since its initial completion, including the reroute to its current southern terminus at Springer Mountain. The relocation work over the years has resulted in a trail that now tracks across lands that offer it much more protection, thus ensuring its long-term sustainability. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy notes that 99% of the trail now passes through publicly owned lands, including six national park units, eight national forests, and numerous state parks and forests.

Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com

Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park